Monday, 30 January 2012

Earlier this week we saw the Hyundai Elantra and Range Rover Evoque awarded the relevant North American Car and Truck of the Year awards for 2012. However, organizers of the foe European Car of the Year also announced this week the finalists for their equally-prestigious award.

Last year for the European rivalry we saw the all-electric Nissan Leaf take top honors from a field of no less than 41 contenders. This time ‘round presently 35 candidates were eligible for the 2012 European Car Of The Year award, and now that list has been pruned behind to seven.

The seven cars, in no scrupulous categorize, are the Range Rover Evoque, Citroen DS5, Volkswagen Up, Fiat Panda, Toyota Yaris, Ford Focus and the Opel Ampera. These seven cars punch out a worthy field that included the likes of the Audi A6, Lexus GS 350, Mercedes-Benz M-Class and even the Porsche 911, the winner of Motor Authority's own 2012 Best Car to buy competition.

To be eligible, all of the contenders must be new vehicles accessible now or before year’s end in five or more European markets. They also each must have the outlook of at least 5,000 yearly sales. The voting process is presided over by a panel of 59 judges representing 23 European countries and mostly finished up of journalists and other members of the auto industry.

A single winner will be completed known on March 5, the eve of the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. In the meantime, hit the follow page to see the imaginative list of 2012 European Car of The Year contenders.